WINNER OF THE DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE

FROM THE COSTA AWARD-WINNING, WOMEN’S PRIZE-SHORTLISTED AUTHOR OF UNSETTLED GROUND

Every parent lies. But some lies are bigger than others…

In the summer of 1976 eight-year-old Peggy Hillcoat is taken from London by her survivalist father to live in a cabin in a remote European forest. When they arrive he tells Peggy that her mother and the rest of the world are gone.

Now the two of them must scratch a living from the earth: trapping squirrels, foraging for berries, surviving winter as best they can. But it is easy to lose you way in the forest, to lose yourself. How long will Peggy trust her father's story? How long can you stay sane when the world is lost? And what happens when you stop believing in everything?

‘Extraordinary’ The Sunday Times
‘Remarkable’ Penelope Lively

‘Haunting, suspenseful … As warped and sinister as any Brothers Grimm fairytale’ Metro
‘A rivetingly dark tale … Spellbinding’ Sunday Express